Never forget: Combat vets pass war stories on to students

The “Tell America” program was presented to Galway High School students Friday by Korean War veterans, who are members of the Adirondack Chapter 60, Korean War Veterans Association. Veterans spoke to the students about their personal experiences in the war.
ERICA MILLER — THE SARATOGIAN

The “Tell America” program was presented to Galway High School students Friday by Veterans of the Korean War, who are members of the Adirondack Chapter 60, Korean War Veterans Association. Veterans spoke to the students about their personal experiences in the war.
ERICA MILLER — THE SARATOGIAN

GALWAY >> Army Sgt. 1st Class Bob Garland of Malta was in Korea for more than a year as a member of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.

Gene Slavin of Glens Falls served on board a Navy destroyer — the USS John R. Pierce DD-753 — that shelled North Korean shore batteries and rail lines.

Their roles and experiences were different, but 60 years later they have the same mission, teaching kids valuable lessons about the “Forgotten War,” from 1950 to 1953.

“It’s important because of what it cost,” Garland said. “We lost more lives (almost 37,000) over there than in the Revolutionary War.

Garland, Slavin and several other Korean War veterans on Friday visited Galway High School, where they spoke to more than 100 kids and school board members as part of a national “Tell America” program. Events commemorating the war’s 60th anniversary have had a significant impact the past three years, Garland said.

“We got no homecoming, no greetings at all,” he said. “We just kind of drifted home. Now they’re paying a lot of attention, making up for that.”

Slavin said the Navy’s job during the war was to keep supplies from reaching the North Koreans.

“The sea right off the coast of North Korean is very deep, so we could get in close to shore,” he said. “One of our main targets was the railroads. One time, however, we took a pretty good hit from a shore battery. Thirteen sailors were wounded. We were lucky nobody was killed.”

Garland, originally from Montreal, joined the army without even being a U.S. citizen. His father, a Presbyterian minister, left Canada for a church in Albany and Garland joined his parents there a short time later.

In 1951, he was drafted.

“Aliens were right on top of the list,” Garland said. “It was go back to Canada or go in the army.”

His father had been a World War II chaplain, assigned to a military hospital in Belgium. So Garland decided to serve, too.

He wound up as a parachutist with 37 jumps to his credit.

“I was young and stupid,” he said, smiling.

In 1958, he became a U.S. citizen and his 20-year army career also took him to Vietnam, where he earned a Bronze Star. Afterward, he was assigned to West Point to mentor the 2nd Regiment, Corps of Cadets.

“They wanted me to teach them what NCOs (non-commissioned officers) do in the army,” Garland said. “Officers give the commands, but non-coms are the ones who get it done.”

Vietnam was one of the most controversial wars in U.S. history. However, Garland said he’s never questioned America’s role in Korea.

“I think it was a just cause,” he said. “It’s just amazing the difference between North and South Korea today.”

Galway Town Historian Phyllis Keeler, whose husband, Earl, is a Korean War veteran, was instrumental in getting the program scheduled, with help from high school Principal Michael Healy. Participating veterans belong to Adirondack Chapter 60, Korean War Veterans Association, led by Cmdr. William Shaw of Malta, who was in Korea in 1952 and belonged to the Army Corps of Engineers, attached to the Air Force.

“We were responsible for keeping the airfields open and operational,” he said.

The veterans group included a special guest, Mary Kuelzow of Saratoga Springs, whose late husband, James, a Marine, was at the infamous Chosin Reservoir in Korea and suffered through the long march afterward in bitter-cold winter conditions.

Some veterans have Purple Hearts. Others were in support units, without whom it would be impossible to conduct any large-scale military operation.

Students also were shown a large map to help them understand Korea’s geography, along with artifacts and photos brought in by veterans. The students are given a hand-out that describes major battles and relevant facts about the war. Most important, veterans want today’s younger generation to learn about the sacrifice their comrades made.